The eleventh is every place where the Apostle, for counsel, putteth
some word by which men use to signify command, or calleth the
following of his counsel by the name of obedience. And therefore they
are alleged out of
I Corinthians, 11. 2, "I commend you for keeping my
precepts as I delivered them to you." The Greek is, "I commend you for
keeping those things I delivered to you, as I delivered them": which
is far from signifying that they were laws, or anything else, but good
counsel. And that of
I Thessalonians, 4. 2, "You know what
commandments we gave you": where the Greek word is paraggelias
edokamen, equivalent to paredokamen, "what we delivered to you," as in
the place next before alleged, which does not prove the traditions of
the Apostles to be any more than counsels; though as is said in the
eighth verse, "he that despiseth them, despiseth not man, but God":
for our Saviour himself came not to judge, that is, to be king in this
world; but to sacrifice himself for sinners, and leave doctors in his
Church, to lead, not to drive men to Christ, who never accepteth
forced actions (which is all the law produceth), but the inward
conversion of the heart, which is not the work of laws, but of counsel
and doctrine. And that of
II Thessalonians, 3. 14, "If any man obey
not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with
him, that he may be ashamed": where from the word obey, he would infer
that this epistle was a law to the Thessalonians. The epistles of the
emperors were indeed laws. If therefore the Epistle of St. Paul were
also a law, they were to obey two masters. But the word obey, as it is
in the Greek upakouei, signifieth hearkening to, or putting in
practice, not only that which is commanded by him that has right to
punish, but also that which is delivered in a way of counsel for our
good; and therefore St. Paul does not bid kill him that disobeys; nor
beat, nor imprison, nor amerce him, which legislators may all do; but
avoid his company, that he may be ashamed: whereby it is evident it
was not the empire of an Apostle, but his reputation amongst the
faithful, which the Christians stood in awe of.